June 18th, 2010

Writing site – 750words.com


Last night I was introduced to 750words a site for writers to get the juices flowing

 

The idea is to write 750 words every day and you’ll find the rest of the writing easier. You can write whatever you want, it doesn’t need to be a story or a scene.

 

When you write you graduate through the process of egg to turkey to penguin to … well you need to earn the points to get there. The fun thing is that you get all kinds of statistics and analysis of your writing.

 

I recommend you try it out, what the heck it’s a tool and we all have those days when we can’t seem to get going.

 

Perry

 

Don’t forget the great pricing contest $2.99 romantic fantasy or $6.99 dual version of a paranormal fantasy.

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March 11th, 2010

How did we manage before….


This post title started out as ‘how did we manage before the Internet? but I realized the topic was wider than that.

I’m a trailing baby boomer (they just kept dropping the birth year until I was suddenly a baby boomer). I’m used to the realization that life has changed so much in my lifetime (I’m pretty sure there were no TVs when I was born – at least not easily accessible for a family) what I am always surprised at is how much has happened in the last 1/2 of my lifetime. This isn’t going to be another list of things like kids don’t know what a cassette deck is… I just wanted to give some perspective. Our first TV (we lived in Wales) required constant feeding of coin to make it work. Now, I can pick up my TV in one hand, and it will soon be in 3d (not sure if that’s a benefit but my mind is open).

So, today I run a consulting business and a share of a publishing business, I hold positions in two different professional communities and I write, and I do have a social life. I couldn’t have done that when I was younger – I can only manage it because I have twitter, blogs, email, conference call, webinars, online banking, MSN, IRC…….

I do waste some time on Twitter – who doesn’t, that’s what it’s for. But my time there is often, marketing, researching and connecting with people.  I write for 4 blogs all together, not daily but I do contribute. It’s a place to inform, connect and share. All in my PJs if I want.

Along with Sue and another writer/teacher/etc friend we’re working on developing two forms of writing workshops, on-line and in person. And, for my consulting company I’m doing the same.

I guess the point is, the technology has opened the possibilities for me to have a varied and exciting life. It’s up to me to make that happen.

So, the next time someone asks me why they should be on Twitter, blogging, Facebook,linked in, You Tube, I think I’ll answer – “What do you think you want to be there for?” It’s all about what you want to do, not what everyone else thinks you should do.

Have a great week.

Perry

Books 25% off until March 13

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March 8th, 2010

Read an Ebook week


Hi, today is day 2 of read an ebook week. This is the week when ebooks go on sale at participating distributors. Our distributor, Smashwords is participating and PaperBox Books has discounted our books by 25% for the week.

Shameless plug of Paperbox Books to make sure you don’t miss the sale – buy our books, please. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble. Thanks (yes, we’re Canadian).

Off Track. Madeline was on track to make partner in her law firm when she was dragged into a magical world. Can she find her way back on track through a tangle of love, magic, and evil villains? And will she want to turn her back on love to return. Jode knew he loved Madeline as soon as she followed him to his world. Will he sacrifice his love for her freedom?

The Trouble with Jake. (YA) After catching her boyfriend cheating on her, Kathryn drives all night. Finally, in the wee early hours of the morning she parks on the wharf at White’s Bluff. Jake, watches her even though she can’t see him. He’s been a ghost for over a century and over the years has developed a fondness for Kathryn and her family as they vacationed at White’s Bluff each summer. After sunrise, Kathryn leaves her car to stand on the wharf. She is shocked to discover the imaginary protector of her childhood fantasies is real. The more she learns about Jake’s identity the more he worries she’s getting too attached. A storm is brewing, can they survive it.

The Problem with Jake. (the adult version of the story)Kathryn catches her fiancé cheating. Driving all night, she pulls onto White’s Bluff wharf. As a teenager she’d spent hours weaving fantasies about a protector. Stepping onto the wharf, she discovers her protector is real. Jake, a ghost for over a century is stunned when Kathryn speaks to him. As they became closer, he can’t help but worry about the plans she is making for their future.

The dual version. Ever wonder how the same story is changed depending on the audience. Check out this dual version.

Happy reading

Perry

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December 28th, 2009

The waiting game


If you have followed us on Twitter, you’ll know the big news. Our first books are up and available to buy on Smashwords.

Here are the links if you haven’t heard.

The Problem with Jake

Off Track

The Trouble with Jake

Dual Version of  the Jake and Kathryn

Now we wait for the process to flow through to the Kindle store, the Sony ebook store and Fictionwise and all the other great e-book retailers out there.  The great news is we did a fabulous formatting job so we qualified for the premium catalogue – important for our authors to know we are able to produce high quality ebooks.

I thought the waiting over Christmas would drive me nuts – waiting to get the components together, waiting to make sure the formatting was clean. I didn’t think ahead to how it feels stalking Amazon.com and the Sony store to see when our titles pop up.

Well, I can live with the anticipation.

Time to get going on other people’s books and helping other authors find their audience.

Have a great new years celebration – drink all you want – leave the car keys at home.

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December 25th, 2009

e-Books for Sale


The bestest Christmas gift of all was looking at the front page of the PaperBox Books website and seeing titles for sale. Well, ok that was the 2nd bestest feeling, the absolutely bestest of bestest feelings (can you guess my word for the day?) was seeing the statistics show book sales within a few hours of our books going online. There were dances of joy on both sides of the continent (Perry in Vancouver and me, home for the holidays, in New Brunswick).

We have several authors going through our editing process now and we’ll have even more e-books for sale in the new year.

Current Titles Available:

Off Trackby Alice Griffiths – A romantic fantasy

Madeline was on track to make partner in her law firm when she was dragged into a magical world. Can she find her way back on track through a tangle of, love, magic, and evil villains? And will she want to turn her back on love to return. Jode knew he loved Madeline as soon as she followed him to his world. Will he sacrifice his love for her freedom?

A Novel Experiment

Originally written as a paranormal adult romance, ‘The Problem with Jake‘ was re-written as a young adult paranormal romance called ‘The Trouble with Jake‘. Author Sue Nelson Buckley couldn’t decide which was the better version so she’s opted to offer both for sale either as individual novels or together in a dual version issue. While the main story is the same, the subplots are significantly different to allow readers to enjoy both books without constantly experiencing deja vu. Aspiring writers and book clubs will love this unique ability to explore the changes made and debate whether they were effective.

The Problem with Jake by Sue Nelson Buckley – the adult version

Kathryn catches her fiancé cheating. Driving all night, she pulls onto White’s Bluff wharf. As a teenager she’d spent hours weaving fantasies about a protector. Stepping onto the wharf, she discovers her protector is real. Jake, a ghost for over a century is stunned when Kathryn speaks to him. As they became closer, he can’t help but worry about the plans she is making for their future.

The Trouble with Jake by Sue Nelson Buckley – the young adult version

After catching her boyfriend cheating on her, Kathryn drives all night. Finally, in the wee early hours of the morning she parks on the wharf at White’s Bluff. Jake, watches her even though she can’t see him. He’s been a ghost for over a century and over the years has developed a fondness for Kathryn and her family as they vacationed at White’s Bluff each summer. After sunrise, Kathryn leaves her car to stand on the wharf. She is shocked to discover the imaginary protector of her childhood fantasies is real. The more she learns about Jake’s identity the more he worries she’s getting too attached. A storm is brewing, can they survive it.

Please note – When you click on the links to purchase books from PaperBox Books, you will be taken to www.smashwords.com to ensure your transaction is secure.

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